Issue 179, December 2023

Peter Beilharz: The Life of the Mind, Friendship, and Cultural Traffic in Postmodern Times

Guest editors: Christopher G Robbins and Eric Ferris with Sian Supski

This liber amicorum, or ‘book of friends’, celebrates Peter Beilharz by engaging with different facets of his complex body of work as an intellectual, educator/mentor, and friend/thought partner, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Peter has made significant contributions to critical theory, historical sociology, and cultural theory as both a sociology professor and prolific researcher and theorist, one example of his vast work being the founding of this journal, Thesis Eleven, an international wellspring of theoretical rigor, openness, and insight. Across the primary domains of his work, Peter fosters deep relationships, while producing, interpreting, and conducting immense cultural traffic. The contributions collected herein account for these remarkable qualities and achievements by critically engaging with Peter the Intellectual, Peter the Educator/Mentor, and Peter the Friend/Thought Partner.

A selection of papers from this issue are available open access in prepublication format as a part of our online special edition.

Overture

Reflections on friendship and gratitude for Peter Beilharz on the occasion of his ‘revolution #70’

Christopher G Robbins and Eric Ferris with Sian Supski

Album 1: The Intellectual

Peter Beilharz’s baby: The infancy of Thesis Eleven

Alastair Davidson

Intersecting with PB

Martin Jay

‘Peter’s House of Theory’ – a postcard to Peter

Margaret Somers

Lockdown conversations

Janet Wolff

A poetical contact with Peter Beilharz through Agnes Heller

Fu Qilin

Interpreter of culture, conveyor of feel: Peter Beilharz’s musicality

Harry Blatterer

Counting the beat

Glyn Davis

A meeting of minds: Peter Beilharz, public intellectual and friend

Philippa Mein Smith

Puzzling Australia

Peter Murphy

Exceptionalism and provincialism: Rethinking the Antipodes

David Roberts

‘Look both ways’ – you might be hit by the traffic: On Peter Beilharz’s Antipodean social theorising

John Rundell

Peter the Great

Mark Davis

Circling Beilharz? More like a wobbly orbiting

Christopher G Robbins

Space creator

Peter Wagner

Peter Beilharz and modernity in ruins

George Steinmetz

Album 2: The Teacher/Mentor

Learning through and from Peter Beilharz

Eric Ferris

Oh, and me!

Frencesca (Qin Jiayang)

Reflecting on Peter the teacher

Julian J Potter

Peter Beilharz as intellectual

Chamsy el-Ojeili

The Peter principle

Clinton Walker

Album 3: The Friend/Thought Partner

Pete as mentor, colleague, collaborator, friend: ‘Thanks, pal!’

Trevor Hogan

My long friendship with Peter Beilharz, intellectual and otherwise

Jeffrey C Alexander

On intellectual friendship: For Peter Beilharz

Craig Calhoun

Der Gesprächspartner: Peter Beilharz as interlocutor

Neil Fettling

Peter Beilharz

John Carroll

A story of friendship: An homage to Peter Beilharz

María Pía Lara

Peter Beilharz

Chris Rojek

On friendship and Peter Beilharz

Nikos Papastergiadis

Friendship’s resonance: On Peter Beilharz’s goodwill

Howard Prosser

Beilharz in South Africa – jottings

Peter Vale

Three lectures: Travel notes, Bendigo, October 2014

Ivan Vladislavić

Encore

On beginning – Peter Beilharz

Sian Supski

Beilharz blues: Looking backward (2023)/looking forward (1953)

Trevor Hogan, Christopher Robbins and Sian Supski